Why Now? Why Not.
It’s hard to believe we are already at the end of the first month of a new year: 2025. It feels like we didn’t have time to take a breath between the holidays and diving into the new normal of work, school, family, friends, etc. Perhaps we have some New Year’s Resolutions we’re trying to adhere to. Regardless, it’s a lot to take in. So, I am taking some time to press pause and reset.
That’s the same head space that inspired me to write the book UNBRANDED: Emerge a Brand New You launched in 2023. It’s all about curating your personal brand.
The topic of personal branding is complex. It’s challenging to cover off all the layers that make up your unique brand and express yourself in a concise relatable manner.
You may be clamoring to be better understood and respected for your inner truths and personal “WHY”. Perhaps you are feeling undervalued. Maybe you believe people view you as too one-dimensional and your value to the world is underestimated. You might feel like you are missing the genuineness in your brand delivery.
The suggested approach throughout this book is based on the premise of essentially becoming unbranded and/or accepting an unbranded status to reinvent or refresh yourself; ultimately to emerge a brand new you. Think about how one or more of these scenarios fit your current reality.
The brand you are expressing has lost its relevancy and/or luster.
You find yourself being too robotic and myopic when it comes to conveying your uniqueness and specialness.
You feel as though you have never firmly established your personal brand assets that represent the genuine you.
You have built some brand assets but are lacking that compelling story you want to tell.
You need to start at ground zero. You have not really thought about the concept of personal branding and the value it can bring to your life.
Regardless of which scenario(s) you identify with, it means peeling back the onion and getting down to your true inner self. You’ll go through the freeing process of shedding those layers of brand labels others have put on you.
Life moves fast. And you have to work fast in order to excel. It’s easy to climb that life ladder based on where you seemingly fit or what seems easy at the time, rather than intentionally targeting opportunities where your brand can excel. For some, your brand needs to be strengthened within the family unit. For others, your brand needs to be elevated in the workplace and the business community at large.
A common factor in the broad scheme of personal brand building is the lack of consistency and confidence in expressing your brand with a singular voice. Worse yet, you may find yourself falling into the trap of being stereotyped by others based on the way THEY want to define you. This was the motivational catalyst for writing this book: Providing guidance to transform your brand from what others perceive you to be to your true self and the brand that embodies that character.
An ownable story will differentiate you and allow you to be influential to a broader audience. The content is approachable and easy to digest. It’s not a lot of “marketing speak”. Its power is in the usage of realist storytelling to convey the information. You get a glimpse into real people’s struggles (and opportunities) as they live and learn their brand experiences…..experiences you can relate to.
You will be able to take away knowledge and tools to embark upon your own brand building journey with confidence and conviction. You will be inspired to impact the world in a brand-new way!
Why Now
You may be asking the question: Why should I take the time to go down this exploratory path?
Today, much of success in living a productive fulfilled life depends on your ability to communicate the impact you bring to the world. You are unique; unlike anyone else on the planet. It sounds lofty but it’s true. It took me a while to wrap my head around the fact that I can bring real value to benefit those I interact with. At first, that mindset seemed a little pompous and self-serving.
Once I accepted and embraced the reality that I have real meaning and purpose in life, I begin thinking about ways I could do a better job at expressing myself. It came down to my brand.
Who I am. What I Do. Why It Matters.
Everyone has a brand whether you like it or not. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is famously quoted as saying, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room”.
